95 pct of Malaysians skip their veggies - Noor Azmi

SHAH ALAM, July 19 (Bernama) -- About 95 per cent of the country's population do not consume vegetables as recommended by the Ministry of Health (MOH) which is one of the factors leading to fatty liver disease and risk for heart and kidney disease.

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali said the findings were based on the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019 which is conducted every four years to gauge the health literacy of the country's population.

He said most people in Malaysia only consumed one vegetable per meal and did not eat vegetables and fruits according to the size of ‘quarter quarter half’ (that is to ensure that a quarter of the meal is made of grains like rice while the other quarter should comprise proteins such as meat and half made up of fruits and vegetables).

"Eating only one type of vegetable is not good for health, instead you need to take various types of fibre and vegetable in a variety of colour. If you do not eat vegetables you will suffer from a lack of nutrition while excessive intake of sugar and simple carbohydrates will cause the organic compounds to be embedded in the body as fat.

"This can lead to fatty liver disease and eventually it does not function well until the system in our body is damaged and leads to non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as heart and kidney disease," he told reporters after officiating the 23rd National Institute of Health (NIH) Scientific Seminar here today.

Dr Noor Azmi said that based on NHMS 2019, it was found that a ratio of 1:15 per cent of the country's population was obese and those with large abdominal fat with waist circumference (abdominal obesity) were men over 90 centimetres (cm) and women 80 cm.

"This NCD is like a time bomb if left unchecked. The community is encouraged to participate in the National Health Screening initiative to ensure that they care about their health," he said.

Following this, he said for the next NHMS, the government would introduce a National Health Literacy Policy to enhance the understanding and use of existing health facilities today.

-- BERNAMA